Academics
Graduate Programs
Graduate Programs
Criminal Justice, M.S.
About the Program
This program integrates theory, research, and practice that are grounded in the social sciences. The academically rigorous curriculum prepares students for leadership positions in professional criminal justice fields or for advanced graduate study.
Program graduates have a broad base of knowledge in criminal justice and related disciplines; academic skills in critical thinking, conceptualization and analysis; and an in-depth understanding of the complexities of decision making, policy implementation, and planned organizational change in criminal justice.
About the Criminal Justice Department
C114 Classroom Building
1300 Elmwood Ave
Buffalo, NY 14222
Phone: (716) 878-4517
Fax: (716) 878-3240
www.buffalostate.edu/criminaljustice/
Contact Faculty and Staff in the Criminal Justice Department
Admission Requirements
1. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (4.0 scale) in the last 60 credit hours.
2. A written statement of intent that includes the applicant’s preparation for graduate study (guidelines available from the department).
3. If minimum requirements are not met, the graduate faculty may grant an applicant conditional admission to the program as a premajor if the applicant has a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 (4.0 scale)
AND
a. A minimum of five years of full-time work experience in the criminal justice
field.
OR
b. A minimum combined score of 900 on the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
4. Applications are reviewed on a continual basis for the fall and spring semesters.
5. Supplemental application forms for this program may be downloaded from the Graduate School Web site.
Program Prerequisites:
1. An undergraduate descriptive and inferential statistics course from a four-year institution.
2. An undergraduate research methods course from a four-year institution.
In addition, all applicants should review the Admission to a Graduate Program section in this catalog.
Program Requirements
Required Core Courses (9 credits)
CRJ 501 Theoretical Perspectives on Crime/Criminal Justice
CRJ 504 Research Methods in Criminal Justice
CRJ 603 Administration of Criminal Justice
Elective Courses (24–27 credits)
Select from the following:
CRJ 508 History of Criminal Justice
CRJ 590 Independent Study
CRJ 601 Correctional Strategies
CRJ 602 Organizational Behavior and Management Process in Criminal Justice
CRJ 604 Criminal Courts
CRJ 605 Law and Social Control
CRJ 606 Law Enforcement Issues
CRJ 608 Special Topics in Criminal Justice
CRJ 620 White Collar Crime
CRJ 622 Juvenile Justice
CRJ 624 Computer Application
CRJ 625 Race and Ethnicity in Criminal Justice
CRJ 626 Gender Issues in Criminal Justice
CRJ 628 Organized Crime
CRJ 630 Constitutional Issues in Criminal Justice
CRJ 635 Criminal Justice Ethics
CRJ 710 Research Project
Up to 9 credit hours of electives may be taken outside the department with prior written approval of the student’s academic adviser.
Comprehensive Examination or Master’s Project (0-3 credits)
Select one option:
CRJ 690 Master’s Project (3)
Comprehensive Examination
Total Required Credit Hours (36 credits)
All courses are 3 credit hours unless otherwise indicated.
